Tehran, Iran- The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has seized two Greek oil tankers in retaliation for Greece’s assistance to the United States (US) for the seizure of crude oil from an Iranian tanker in the Mediterranean Sea earlier this week.
One of the ships, Prudent Warrior, saw Iranian forces boarding it in the Strait of Hormuz using a helicopter.
“We lost all communication at about two o’clock local time and tried to talk to the vessel repeatedly with no answer. We asked other vessels in the same area to give us the position of the vessel. They told us that a helicopter and two speedboats had reached our vessel. It’s a seizure and a diplomatic situation and we are in the middle,” said George Vakirtzis, chief executive of Polembros Shipping, which operates the Prudent Warrior.
Meanwhile, Greece’s Foreign Ministry said it had made a protest to the Iranian ambassador in Athens over the violent taking of the two Greek ships and called for the immediate release of the vessels and their crews.
“These acts effectively amount to acts of piracy and will have particularly negative consequences. A similar incident has been reported on another Greek-flagged vessel, that was carrying seven Greek citizens, close to the coast of Iran,” said the Ministry.
Iran’s seizure of the Greek vessels marks the first major incident at sea in months, as tensions remain high between Iran and the West over its tattered nuclear deal with world powers. As Tehran enriches more uranium, closer to weapons-grade levels than ever before, worries mount that negotiators won’t find a way back to the accord raising the risk of a wider war.
Moreso, the seizure of the two Greek tankers is likely to cause consternation in the oil market and the maritime industry as Greece owns almost a quarter of all supertankers.
